Trolley shoe



y 1959 F. G. CHIRISTMAN 2,896,032 I TROLLEY SHOE Filed Feb. 16. 1953INVENTOR. v FRED GEORGE CHRISTMAN ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 'I ROLLEY SHOE Fred George Christman, Edmonton,Alberta, Canada, as-

signor to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of NewJersey a This invention relates generally to overhead current collectingdevices and, more particularly, to improvements in current collectorsfor trolley cars and buses wherein the removal and replacement ofcollector shoes and inserts is facilitated.

The invention is concerned with current collector heads of the typeillustrated and described in United States Patent No. 2,044,886, issuedJune 23, 1936, to E. A. La'rsson. In the current collector apparatus ofthat patent, a trolley shoe is fastened to the saddle piece of thecollector head by a hooked portion of one end of the shoe and a stud andcotter pin at the opposite end thereof.

In the above referred to current collector apparatus, the trolley shoeis provided with a carbon insert for use during warm or frost freeweather and a steel insert for use when the current carrying lines areliable to become coated with frost. When changing from carbon to steel,or vice versa, it is necessary to remove'the trolley shoe from thecollector head and to substitute another trolley shoe having either acarbon or steel insert.

The chief difficulty in changing these shoes relates to the fact thatthe change is usually necessitated when the outside temperature is closeto or below the freezing point and the removal of the cotter pin andstud can only be done efficiently by a workman when not wearice thedirection 4-4 in Fig. l, and illustrating, particularly, the arrangementof the latching device; and

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of the insert holder of the invention in aninverted position. Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the collector head ofthe invention comprises a lower saddle member 11 'of malleable iron orthe like with a generally hernispheric outer wall 12, a flat top wall13, and a wall 14 constituting a hemispheric recess 15 in the top wall.The Wall 14 has a longitudinal slot 16 therein to receive the shank of asupport member 17. The member 17 is formed at the upper end with ahemispheric flange 18 received between the wall 14 and the ball 19 of anupper saddle member 20. The arrangement of the lower saddle member 11,the support member 17 and upper saddle member 20 is such as to providerotational and limited rocking movement of the collector head 10 withrespect to the support member 17. The upper saddle 20 is secured to thetop of the lower saddle 11 by means of studs 21 which extend through thetop wall 13 of the lower saddle member. The top saddle member 20supports and restrains an insert holder or collector shoe 22 which inturn holds a carbon or metallic insert 23.

The support member 17 is suitably carried on a trolley pole and isprovided with electrical connecting means,

' all as shown and described in US. Patent 2,044,886

-' securing the collector shoe 22 to the upper saddle memher 20 and tothe'lower saddle member 11 in such a manner that the shoe 22 and insert23 are simultaneously positioned on the two saddle members, whilepermitting ready removal of the shoe and insert as a unit and re- 1placement by a new shoe and insert.

ing gloves or other protective covering. It is usual that workmentsuffer frozen or bruised fingers while changing collector shoes and,generally, that much time is lost during even moderately cold weather.

I have, therefore, provided a simple, eflicient latch arrangement forholding the shoes to thetrolley head.

The latch arrangement is one which may: be manipulated readily by asharp instrument as, for example, a screw driver held in the glovedhandof 'a' 'w'orkman'. Further, only very simple movements are necessaryto release the old shoe and the new shoe may be inserted As is shownparticularly in Figs. 2 and 5, the shoe 22 is formed at its forward endwith a downwardly projecting part 24 which is divided, with the body ofthe shoe, by an angularly directed slot 25. The slot 25 permits the shoeto be spread apart to remove or insert the insert 23 and the twoportions of the part 24 are held by a screw 43 in order to clamp theinsert in the shoe. The bottom of the insert is flush with the bottom ofthe central part of the shoe and rests with the shoe upon the topsurface 45 of the upper saddle member 20.

consideration of the following detailed specification and Thepart 24 ofthe shoe 22 includes a rearwardly di rected tapered part 26 (Fig. 2) and(the part 24 with the part 26) is designated as a downwardly andrearwardly directed hook-like member. The part 26 is received under aforward and upwardly tapered part 27 of the upper saddle member when theinsert holder is in position on the saddle 20. The part 26 is thustightly wedged between the forward part 27 of the upper saddle member 20and the upper wall 13 of the lower saddle member. I

The after part 44 of the shoe22 is provided also with a downward andrearwardly projecting member 28, here in designated as a rearwardlydirected hook-like memher. 7 The member 28 is received in an open part29 of the top wall of the lower saddle member and is engaged with atransverse or counter-part member 30 which ex: tends across the afterextremity of the lower saddle member. The longitudinal extent of theopening 29 and the opening 32 is such that the after hook-like member 28may be received through the opening and the entire shoe moved rearwardlyto engage the member 28 with the counterpart part 30 and further engagethe part 26 with the part 27.

The shoe 22 is held in locking engagement with the saddle members andretained against forward movement v3 by a latch mechanism 31 (-Fig. 2)which is supported within an opening 32 in the body and top wall of thelower saddle. The latch mechanism 31 comprises a latch bar 33 slidablymounted tup'ontwo pins 34 :and 35 which are fixed in the parts 36 and37ofthe lower saddle-member. Two springs 38 and 39, received overthezpins 34 and35, urge the bar 33 upwardtto engage the after part'ofthe upper saddle '20 which ,projects'outwardly \over the path of the-bar (Fig. 1). The bar-33 is thus normally -disposed in a position justforward of the after hook-like member '28 of the collector shoe and.prevents forward movement of the shoe while the-collector head is inuse.

The latch bar 33-is formed with a lug 40 which projects downwardly fromthe middle part ofthe bar a distance such that a slot '41 in therearward face of the piece is disposed below the member 28. The slot 41is intended to receive a screwdriver or likeinstrument for unlocking thelatch mechanism. I

-In"order to replace the collector shoe and insert of a collector head,the old shoe -is removed by inserting -a screw drive through the opening42 at the after extremity of the lower saddle member and into the slot41. The handle ofthe screw driver is moved upward to move the latch bar33 downward and'out of its locking position in front of the member .28.The shoe can then be moved forward, with the bottom of the shoe 22 andthe insert 23 sliding on the top surface 45 of the upper saddle member20, until the after hook-like member 28 clears the counterpart member30. The after part of the collector shoe is then .lifted upward from thelower saddle member at its after extremity and moved forward todisengage the holder from the upper saddle. The latch bar is thenreleased. 7

A new collector shoe and insert -it mounted in place by fitting theforward hook=likemember 26 of the insert holder loosely over theforwardly projecting part-27 of the upper saddle member'and the'afterhook-like member '28 is placed against the top 'of the latch bar 33. Theshoe can then be pushed'downward and moved rearwardly into position. Thecollector head is then ready for operation.

The lower saddle member has openings 46 in the top wall 13 thereof forreducing'the weightof the device.

It is to be understood that-the foregoing description is not intended torestrict the scope of the invention and that various rearrangements ofthe parts and modifications ofthe design may be resorted to. Thefollowing claims are directed to combinations or elements which embodyextremity of the collector shoe and atransverse counterpart member onthe support means engaged by the after hook-like member of restraining,with the forward hooklike member and the said under-cut part, verticalmovement of the shoe, the said counterpart member being spaced from thesaid-elevated part sufficiently to permit movement of the shoe in theforward direction to disengage the said hook-like members from the saidunderout part and from the said counterpart member respectively, latchmeans comprising a transversely directed and vertically movable latchmember carried by the support means forwardly of and below the saidcounterpart member and engaged with the forward side of the afterhook-like member in an upward one of two positions to prevent forwardmovement of the shoe relative to the support means and disposed belowthe after hook-like member in a second of the said two positions andspring means between the support means and latch member for normally'h'oldin'gthe latch member'in the said one position.

2. A current collector head comprising a lower saddle member forattachment to a trolley pole, an upper saddle member having forward "andafter extremities secured to the top of the lower saddle member, anunder-cut part at the forward extremity of the said upper saddle member,a trolley shoe carried 'on the top surface of the said upper saddlemember with adownwardly and rearwardly directed 'hook-like member at theforward extremity of the shoe engaged with the said undercut part, adownwardly and rearwardly projecting hook-like member at the afterextremity ofthe collectorshoe and a transverse counterpart member on thelower saddle member engaged by the after'hook-like member forrestraining, with the forward hook-like member and the said under-cutpart, vertical movement of the shoe, the said counterpart member beingspaced from the said upper saddle sufficiently-to permit movement of theshoe in the forward direction to disengage the said hook-like membersfrom the said under-cut part and from the said counterpartmember-respectively, latch means comprising a transversely directed andvertically movable latch member carried by the support means forwardlyof and below the said counterpart member and engaged with the forwardside of the after hook-like member in an upward one of two positions toprevent forward movement of the shoe relative to the support means anddisposed below the after hook-like member in a second of the said twopositions, and spring means between the support means and latch memberfor normally holding the latch member in the said one position.

3. The invention 'inaccordance with claim 1 in which the said verticallymovable latch member comprises a horizontal latch bar with twovertically directed .pins mounted. on the lower saddle member at eachside of and below the upper saddle member, the latch bar sliding on andbeing guided by the pins.

4.- Theinvention in accordance with claim 3 in which the said bar has adownwardly directed lug extending below the said counterpart member andis accessible from the exteriorof the lower saddle member.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 2 in which the upper saddlemember projects over the latch member to serve asan upper stop for thelatch member.

References Cited in the file of this patent STATES PATENTS 664,459 Brownet a1 Dec. 25, 1900 870,080 Bos'tian Nov. 5, 1907 874,979 Murphy Dec.31, 1907 1,684,178 "Gouty Sept. 11, l928 2,044,866 Larsson June 23, 19362,127,613 Namp'a Aug. 23, 1938 n2,'155,242 Ryan Apr. 18, 1939

